Let Me Let Go
by notjaneausten
Summary: What if Carol hadn't been as understanding as Daryl had said that she would be? Carol felt destroyed that Daryl had chosen to go off with Merle without even a word of explanation to her. Did he really think so little of their time together? What about when Merle finds out that Daryl has found someone and yet chosen to abandon her; just so Daryl can be with him instead? Prison based
1. Chapter 1

"Please be them," Carl whispered as the sound of a vehicle crunching on gravel could be heard in the still morning air. He and Carol had been pacing up and down at the lower gates waiting for the rescue party to return from Woodbury. They had left the previous night, a small party of just Michonne leading Rick, Oscar and Daryl into Woodbury to rescue the captive Glenn and Maggie.

"It's them. Hurry!" Carol recognised the familiar green of the Hyundai rolling toward the gate and she and Carl ran to open the main gate. Rick stepped out as the car came to a halt in between the first sets of gates at the checking point. He leant through the window;

"Drive them up, I'll meet you there." As he spoke Carol was anxiously checking the car; unable to see Daryl at all. Rick crouched down to enfold Carl in a warm hug. "Thank God." He whispered and kissed his son's cheek. "Where's Hershel?" He asked.

"He's in the cell block."

"Where's Daryl?" Carol asked anxiously, her voice pitched higher than usual with tension; and pressing a hand against her stomach to stem the nausea threatening to overtake her. Rick looked over from Carl and wondered how he was going to tell her that her redneck wasn't coming home. He strode over and placed a hand on her shoulder and bent slightly so that she could see his eyes.

"It's all right. He's alive." He reassured her and Carol let out a huge sigh of relief. "We ran into his brother." Rick watched as the animation drained out of Carol; leaving her pale and shaking in front of him. _Damn you, Daryl, for leaving me to break this sweet woman's heart! _ Rick swallowed hard and let her have it all in one go. "They went off."

"They left?" Carol whispered in disbelief, her face paler than Rick had ever seen it. Rick dropped his gaze and kicked at a stone with his boot. "Daryl left?" She whispered again, hoping that it was just a mistake; that she'd misheard him somehow. "He's gone?" Rick looked up and Carol saw it was the truth from the misery etched on his face. "Is he coming back?" She asked, voice cracking with unshed tears. Rick reached out to touch her shoulder again and she shrugged off the comforting touch and turned away; struggling to hold onto her emotions.

"Hey…"

"Gone…" Rick and Carl stepped up to escort the now weeping Carol up through the field; Rick wrapped one around his friend's shoulder and the other across his son's back.

"And Oscar?" Carl asked, watching as Rick slowly shook his head to indicate that Oscar had fallen whilst trying to get them through the barricade at Woodbury. Carol made it a few steps into the compound before collapsing in silent sobs against Rick's chest. Carl ran back to pull the gate across the enclosure and stood helplessly watching as she cried herself ragged before slumping against Rick.

"Dad?" Carl questioned in alarm, Rick passed the weapons across to Carl as he hitched one arm under Carol's knees and lifted her into his arms.

"It's just shock, son. Run up ahead and ask Hershel to come over to check her out."

"Stupid redneck…" Rick muttered to himself as he carried Carol in the courtyard; he brushed past Axel and Beth hovering at the sight of him carrying a clearly unconscious Carol into the cell block. He reached the cells and decided to lay her in a cot down on the lower level so that she didn't have to face the sight of Daryl's empty perch every morning.

Hershel clunked in with his crutches and Rick moved a stool over so that he could examine the pale looking woman lying so still on the thin mattress. "Hmmm…pulse is a little thready but I can't see anything majorly wrong. She'll wake up of her own accord soon enough." He removed his fingers from around Carol's wrist and pulled a blanket up to cover her slim frame; before swivelling on the stool to face Rick. "Carl mentioned something about her receiving a bit of a shock, something about Daryl not coming back? He get bit?" Rick jerked his head to the side to indicate that he didn't want to speak about it in front of Carol and Hershel manoeuvred himself upright to swing himself out of the narrow cell. Rick led Hershel into the communal area just at the end of the cell block; where several small metal tables were screwed to the floor. He waited until Hershel got himself comfortable before taking a seat himself.

"We ran into a little trouble at Woodbury…that Governor of theirs got hold of Daryl and had him fighting in some sort of arena. They had Merle there too."

"Merle? Daryl's brother, Merle? The one that got left behind in Atlanta?"

"Yeah, he's been working as some kind of henchman over in the town. He managed to get Daryl out of the arena and we got out of there; but not without losing Oscar along the way."

"So where are they now, Rick?" Hershel leant back on the stool and looked over at the group's leader.

"I couldn't have Merle coming back with us; not after what he did to Glenn and Maggie. Daryl refused to go anywhere without his brother, so they took off in the woods somewhere."

"Now, I understand why you wouldn't want Merle living in the same cell block as our group; I certainly wouldn't feel safe with him sleeping a few doors away from my Bethie. From all accounts he's a bit of a hothead, but do you mean to tell me that you didn't even consider offering him a place over in A or B? Those two blocks aren't even connected to our living quarters, they even have their own exercise yard!" Hershel rapped his knuckles on the table top making Rick jump. "You've just forced our only provider of fresh food away because you didn't think through properly! You should have brought him back here so that we could have all had a say in deciding. You knew how hard Carol was gonna take his leavin' and now look how she's sufferin'. Poor child, she'd only just got Daryl comfortable enough with her to consider the possibility of somethin' else other than mere friendship and now he's gone…"

Rick ran his fingers through his already dishevelled hair and looked over at the older man.

"I've really screwed things up, haven't I?"

"Oh, I daresay that Glenn had plenty to say on the matter as well. I take it he wasn't too receptive of the idea of Merle returning with y'all?"

"Yeah…he was pretty vocal. Said he didn't want a rapist around Maggie, Carol or Beth." Rick muttered; trying to think of a way to make things right.

"And is he?" Hershel questioned quietly, and at Rick's quick glance clarified even further. "A rapist, I mean."

"Naw – just a mean looking hothead with muscle. Killer instinct, yes but he's not rapist."

"Okay, I'll talk to Glenn and Maggie about clearing out A and B and you think about how we can track Daryl and Merle down; that lady with the sword might come in handy, too. You might want to think about asking her to stick around a while longer." Hershel rose from the table and patted Rick on the shoulder. "Next time, just think things through a little longer before you act. I'll get Beth to sit and watch Judith near Carol; let me know if she hasn't come around in an hour or two."

Hershel shuffled out, leaving Rick to contemplate his next move. Could he even find Daryl and Merle? It had been at least four hours since they had parted ways; the pair of them were experienced trackers and were skilled at hiding their own trails. Rick sighed heavily as he realised he would need to ask for Michonne's assistance when she had regained consciousness, and probably do a little grovelling to get her to agree to help.


	2. Chapter 2

Carol stirred on the bunk and slowly opened her eyes; wondering for a second why her head felt woolly and her eyes puffy. She stared at the lower frame of the bunk above her and suddenly it all came flooding back.

_'We ran into his brother….They went off…'_

_'He left….? Daryl's gone…?'_

The aching void in her chest where her heart had been ripped out and stomped on intensified so much that she thought she would scream in agony; but she remained stoic and silent, refusing to give in to the crushing pain.

A stirring from the curtain being shifted aside in the doorway had Carol rolling over to face the wall; not wanting to see anyone or have to make polite small talk when her world had caved in around her.

"Hey Carol, you awake?" Rick's low voice called over, and she heard him move into the cell and sit down on the same stool that Hershel had occupied earlier. "I know you're awake, I saw you roll over. If you don't want to talk to me, I'll understand; but could you just listen instead?" Rick watched for any signs that Carol could hear him, and then he saw the subtle shift in her shoulder as she shrugged in a classic 'whatever' gesture. Rick looked down at his hands and nervously began twisting his silver wedding band around his ring finger. He opened his mouth to speak a few times and then sighed heavily. "I'm sorry I didn't try to persuade him stay harder…I never realised the two of you…" His voice trailed off and Carol shrugged again; determined not to pity the misery she could hear in his tone.

"Hershel said that I should have brought Merle back here for us all to decide whether he could become part of the group again; said I acted too rashly." Rick twisted his ring again and glanced over to see whether she was listening, Carol hadn't moved at all apart from those brief shrugs.

"We're gonna start clearing out blocks A and B tomorrow; Hershel says that they don't connect with our block in any way and that it even has its own exercise yard. Daryl will probably decide to move over there with Merle anyway; but he will still be **here**, still part of our family. Hershel's talked it over with Glenn and Maggie and they are okay with that, they just didn't want him living with us. I've even got Michonne to agree to come out with me and Axel tomorrow to try and track them down…" Rick stopped as he heard a mumble coming from Carol, he leant forward. "What was that, honey?"

"Don't." Carol repeated and rolled over to lay on her back, twisting her head to the side so that he could see that she was completely serious. Her face was pale but her normally vivacious eyes were cold and hard. "Don't go out looking for them. He's made his choice. Leave him be."

"But, Carol? I thought that you wanted him here with you?" Rick was confused, where was the woman that cried in his arms earlier? This stony woman looking at him was not the Carol they all knew and loved.

"I said, no." Carol rolled back over in the bunk to face the wall once more. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm very tired and I don't want to talk about Da…it anymore." Rick caught the hesitation in her voice and realised that she hadn't referred to Daryl once by name. He saw her shoulders shaking under the thin blanket and realised that she was sobbing silently into the pillow and rose to his feet.

"Okay, get some rest. We'll leave it for now, perhaps you'll feel differently in the morning." Rick quietly left the cell and as soon as he was gone, Carol couldn't hold in her emotions any longer and screamed into the pillow.

"Why?" _We were finally getting somewhere, and now he's gone. Just like that, gone. _Bitter, hot tears seeped through her lashes; only a few weeks ago Daryl had begun to flirt back when she was teasing him and just a few nights ago had taken her hand voluntarily as they made their way back to the cell block after completing a late watch shift up in the guard tower. It seemed that things were starting to progress and then one word from Merle had him scampering after him like a puppy. No, she didn't have room in her life for a man like that; she wanted someone to put her first for a change. She had loved Daryl for so long that she had begun to fool herself into thinking that he felt the same way; now it was clear to her that his brother would always come first with him and so she had to start hardening her heart. For Rick to suddenly announce that he was planning on tracking the brothers down was just too much too bear; how was she supposed to get over him when he would potentially be living just a few yards away? No, it was better that things were left just as they were. _Yeah, better for you maybe. But what about the rest of the group? You know no one else can hunt worth a damn…you'd really let your family suffer because you don't to mope around hankering after someone that clearly doesn't give a fig about you?_ "Shut up!" Carol tried to quieten down the little voice in her ear telling her that she was being unreasonable; but it wouldn't give in. _Come on, Carol, you lived with a man that clearly didn't love you for nearly fifteen years; and he was your husband. Surely, you can live with a man that you haven't even got to first base with? You're strong, you're a survivor now, you don't need Daryl to protect you anymore. You can do it…_

"No, I can't…it hurts too much…" Carol wrapped her arms around her waist and curled her legs up in a foetal position. Hershel poked his head around the door as he heard her pained whisper and made his way over to the bed to pull her into his arms; ignoring her protests.

"Hush, Carol. You cry it all out, come on honey. I've got strong shoulders, I can take it."

"I feel so stupid, it's not as if we were even together really…" Carol clung onto the older man and he ran his hand through her hair.

"Try telling that to your heart, honey. Heck, the whole group thought you were a couple anyway. You were the only person that he could be himself with; you took care of him, made sure he ate and you were the only one he ever smiled for. So don't try to tell me that you weren't a couple because you were." Hershel whispered all the things that Carol did for Daryl and all the things that he did for her; little things that other people might have missed; like the way he would always make sure that she didn't miss out on any treats brought back from the runs; how he would wait until she had eaten before leaving the table himself. The way that if Carol was ever cold, he would always wrap his poncho around her to keep her warm – things that only someone married for a long time would have picked up on. Maggie and Glenn were too new a couple to even know the smallest likes and dislikes but he would have bet a whole stack of bibles that Carol was the only one who knew how Daryl liked his coffee and that Daryl knew that Carol would eat carrots but turn her nose up at beets.

"Okay, enough!" Carol pulled herself away from Hershel and wiped her eyes on the handkerchief he passed over. She took a deep breath and tried to bring her emotions under control. "Hershel, tell Rick that he can go and try and find Daryl if he can. BUT, if Daryl and Merle don't want to come back – then Rick shouldn't try to force the issue. I'm not going to throw myself at the Walkers just because the man I wanted didn't choose me; I'm strong enough not to do that, but it's gonna take me a little time. Could you spread the word that I'd rather not face any questions about it? I may just crumble if I have to hear 'poor Carol'."

"That's my girl." Hershel patted her hand as he rose from the bunk. "Honey, any man that is foolish enough to let you slip through his fingers is a pitiful man indeed. You're treasured amongst your family, Carol. I hope you realise that."

"Thank you, Hershel."

"No, **thank you**, Carol. You do so much for us, and we don't thank you enough. Beth's taken care of dinner so you just come on out when you're ready; no rush." Hershel worked his way over to the door and nearly lost his balance when Carol wrapped her arms around his middle from behind and pressed her head against his back.

"I don't know what I would do without you, Hershel. Thanks for listening."

"Anytime, honey. You know I consider you a daughter as much as my two girls…"

"I know." Carol brushed a kiss over his whiskery cheek and he smiled down at her before leaving her to try and cover up the puffy, red eyes and swollen nose from her crying jag.


	3. Chapter 3

Daryl hadn't even walked five miles when he realised that he had made a monumental mistake in choosing to go off with Merle instead of returning to the prison. Merle had soon slipped into his 'Merle knows best' routine and pretty much ignored any suggestion that Daryl put forth as a possibility. Until then, Daryl hadn't realised how much he had changed since the two of them had separated; now he knew that he was a respected member of a community that relied on him; not only as a game provider but as a friend too. _What about Carol? Was she 'just' a friend, too? _ He used to think so, but lately that small woman was beginning to stir up emotions he had thought he wasn't capable of feeling.

"Stupid, effing redneck." Daryl muttered to himself as he kicked the ground under his feet.

"You talking ta me, boy?" Merle narrowed his eyes in warning and Daryl flicked him off.

"Talking ta myself more like, why I ever thought of comin' along with you would be easier, I don't know."

"Easier than what, 'lil brother? You, me; all this fresh air, we don't need nothin' else." Merle gestured around them with his metal stump and looked over at his younger brother who had slumped against a tree, chewing his thumbnail. "Why the long face, bro? You look like ya left yer best friend behind….oooh, are we missin' Officer Friendly? Has Darlena found himself a boyfriend after all these years?"  
"Shut up, Merle! Fer the last time, I ain't gay!" Daryl spat out venomously and hitched his crossbow across his back and started to pace between the trees.

"Look, something's got your panties in a wad – what ain't ya tellin' me, bro? C'mon, out with it." Merle sat down and leant against a tree trunk and gestured for Daryl to spill the beans. He knew his brother well enough to be able to tell when something was bothering him.

"I shouldn't have come along with you, I shoulda gone back with Rick. Maybe she…"

"**SHE**? Has Daryl finally found out what to do with his equipment after all these years?" Merle smirked over at his brother, and only narrowly avoided the bolt fired from Daryl's crossbow.

"Shut up! Do you wanna hear this or not?"

"Oh, do please continue. I am all ears for this story." Merle folded his arms over his chest and lazily crossed his ankles as he settled back against the tree.

"There's this woman…Ain't gonna tell ya who, so don't even bother asking. It started out innocent enough, she would bring me over a plate whenever I was on a watch shift so that the other greedy shits wouldn't get their hands on it. Then she started with the little touches, you know a hand on my arm to point something out or a peck on the cheek as a thank you for bringing her back some shampoo or toothpaste from a supply run. If anyone else got that close, I'd freak out – heck ya know what Pa did ta me; but with her it's different." Daryl slumped to the ground and started running one of his bolts through his fingers. He glanced over to Merle who hadn't made a single derogatory comment.

"How is it different, bro? Why her?"

"I don't know; I feel comfortable with her, 's all. We ain't that different, both had shitty experiences that have made us different people that we started out to be. I don't have to pretend to be anything that I'm not when I'm with her – Hell, I even went so far as to….never mind." Daryl stopped, face flushing as he was about to reveal his most intimate details about his relationship with his brother. Merle would have fallen about laughing if Daryl had revealed that as far as he'd got was to hold Carol's hand and brush a kiss across her cheek. For Merle that would have been like something you did with you maiden old auntie and not with a prospective lover; but for Daryl it was a monumental thing that had taken weeks of courage to face.

"That's good, bro. I ain't kidding, that's real good. You ain't like me; willing to settle for any female with a heartbeat; naw, I always knew that you were gonna be different." Merle nodded over at his brother. "So, ya dumb prick – whatcha doin' out here with me when ya coulda returned back to ya sweetie with Rick?"

"Huh?" Daryl sat up straighter against the trunk, the bolt falling from his hands at the sound of Merle's yelling.

"Ya really are a stupid redneck if ya think I'm gonna let ya sacrifice the one good thing about this whole fucked up world. C'mon; shift it – let's get ya back to yer little mouse." Merle rose to his feet and reached down a hand to pull Daryl up with him.

"How….?" Daryl couldn't comprehend how Merle had worked out who he had been speaking of. Nothing had started between him and Carol until they had reached the farm and Merle had been long gone by that time.

"Andrea told me that ya went out every day looking for the mouse's little girl, Sophie wasn't it?"

"Sophia." Daryl corrected and Merle nodded in agreement.

"Told me how ya nearly got yerself killed by one of yer own bolts just tryin' ta bring a doll back to her Momma… Dumbass." He cuffed Daryl lightly around the back of the head as payback for his recklessness. "Don't think I put it all together until ya said about how ya both had shitty experiences, hope that ass of a husband of hers is out of the picture."

"Yeah, got bit back in Atlanta."

"Good."

"Carol caved his head in with a pick axe to prevent him from comin' back." Daryl added and smirked at Merle's dumbfounded expression.

"Yer shitting me?"

"No shit, she grabbed that axe right outta ma hand and started pounding away. Practically had to scoop the pieces up with a shovel ta get rid of 'em." Daryl sounded proud of his woman, and Merle chuckled at the thought; most men would have boasted that their woman could cook, or sew, or arrange flowers – not the Dixon's though, the women that did well in their family were the ones that didn't turn up their noses at venison guts landing on their porch, or deer carcasses hanging in the garage.

"Well, I hope she enjoyed every minute of it; sick bastard deserved it after all he did to her. Yeah, bro I think she'll fit in the family quite nicely."

"If she'll have me back, I just walked away without even sending a message back. Just left it up to Rick; told him that she'd understand." Daryl gnawed at his thumbnail again, which had Merle knocking his hand away from his mouth; just as he had done when they were growing up.

"Oooh, little Mouse is probably carving an effigy right now and sticking little pins in where it's gonna hurt the most. I hope you've got a good apology in mind." They continued walking and then Merle suddenly stopped. "SHIT!" he exclaimed as he smacked himself in the forehead with his stump.

"What?"

"I can't come with ya, Daryl. I tried to kill that black warrior and almost killed the Chinese kid, too."

"He's Korean." Daryl corrected and started walking again.

"Whatever! Look, it doesn't matter, man. I just cain't go with you, I'm sorry." Merle's voice cracked at the end of the sentence and he hung his head shamefully.

"Course ya can, who's bein' a dumbass now?" Daryl used a crossbow bolt to sketch out a rough plan of the prison in the dirt. "The main group, we live in blocks C and D, here." He tapped the ground and then drew a circle around a completely separate part of the prison. "Which means A and B are completely empty; ya can move over there. Hell, if it gives us more privacy me and Carol might move in with ya. Now, git a move on; I wanna be home by dark."

"Yessir!" Merle sketched a salute at his younger brother's commanding attitude and as he followed Daryl back the way they came, couldn't help but be impressed by the changes in Daryl's whole outlook. _Thanks, Mouse, for bringing my brother ta life. _


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: For the purposes of this story alone, I've deliberately not had Rick visit 'Crazytown' and the group have not met up to discuss fortifying the prison. That comes a little later when Daryl returns...**

After Rick and Hershel had left Carol in her cell they took a walk down through the grassy enclosure talking through everything that had happened over the last couple of days; and how to best defend the prison in case of attack.

"We know all of the cell blocks are clear of Walkers at least. Daryl, Oscar and Carl took care of that after Andrew set the alarms off."

"Gonna need to run another water pipe down to the creek; the one there at the moment keeps clogging up, might be an idea to fix some sort of grille over the front to stop the pond scum getting in." Hershel mused and Rick nodded thoughtfully.

"Good idea, I might as well slip through the fence now and check it out while we're down here. What's everyone else up to?"

"I believe that Glenn's taken the truck around the front to see where the break in the wall starts. If the Governor does decide to retaliate we need to know where to shore up our defences. I noticed that Judith was looking a little jaundiced so Beth was gonna bring her out for a little fresh air. Michonne's up and about checking out that overturned bus at the top of the yard; I think Maggie was going to try and persuade Carol to come outside for a little while; I have no idea where Axel is."

"Probably hanging around waiting for Carol to notice him; she mentioned the other day that he's started to become a too friendly now that he's realised she's not a lesbian. He's gonna think that it's Christmas now that Daryl is out of the picture." Rick sighed heavily, hating the way that things had suddenly turned sour within the group."

"Shoot, Rick! I completely forgot!" Hershel exclaimed suddenly and Rick turned expectant eyes over to the older man. "Carol changed her mind about you and Michonne going after Daryl; she did say that it had to be his decision whether to come back, and you were not to try and influence him in any way. Oh, and that he had to move over to A with Merle; she doesn't want to have to see him too often, not until she gets over him."

"Yeah…can't say I blame her; I don't feel particularly warming to the prick myself at the moment." Rick tried to shrug off his suddenly black mood and focus on the task at hand. "Okay. Let's do this, got your pistol?" Rick looked over at Hershel who nodded and patted his side pocket. "Keep an eye on things for a minute while I slip through and check out whether the pipe is clear."

"Don't take too long, I think the natives are getting restless." Hershel jerked his head over to where a few Walkers were gathered along the outer perimeter; something was causing them to become agitated and he was concerned that their groans would only attract more to the fences.

"In and out, five minutes tops." Rick promised as he quickly undid the tie holding the slit in the fence closed and nimbly slithered through.

It only took two for their peaceful haven to erupt into a bloody battlefield. The sound of a car engine approaching the fence gave no cause for concern as everyone assumed that it was Glenn returning around the perimeter road. However, when the first rounds blasted out from a rifle the survivors knew that their lives would never be the same again…

Maggie had persuaded a very quiet Carol to go out into the courtyard for a few minutes to try and bring some colour back to her cheeks. Axel was trying his best to cheer her up;

"As I was saying my brother had a real money problem."

"Yeah? What kind of problem?" Carol was trying her best to pay attention to their conversation but found her mind kept slipping away and she wished she had remained in her cell.

"He wouldn't lend me any. There was this one time…" Axel's words cut off as there was a sudden sharp pain in his side and clapped a hand over the area and his brain was slow to process the fact that he had been shot. All he could do was to look at the bright red blood seeping through his fingers.

"RICK!" Carol screamed as she dropped to the ground and dragged Axel down with her. She ripped the hem off her t-shirt and pressed it to his wound. Beth and Carl dived behind a concrete pillar as shots were fired from **inside **the compound. Somehow the Governor's sniper had made his way up to the guard tower undetected and was firing at the courtyard. Maggie had run inside and managed to grab a couple of rifles and threw one across to Carl and between them they lay down coverfire so that Carol could drag the now groaning Axel to relative safety behind a concrete pillar. Carl kept firing and it was with more luck than judgement that he managed to hit the sniper in the guard tower. It was only then that they heard the rumble of another engine speeding along the gravel road...

"HERSHEL!" Rick was trapped beyond the fence ducking shots fired from somewhere behind him. The engine noise grew louder and he could only stand and watch as a truck barrelled through the perimeter gates and came a halt just yards away from where Hershel had crouched hiding in the exercise area. A ramp lowered onto the grass and soon the groans and shuffles of at least twenty Walkers filled the air as they stumbled down the ramp. Michonne was leaping down from the overturned bus and whirling her Katana. With the yard completely exposed more and more Walkers were stumbling through the open gates, attracted by the noise; which is just what the Governor had in mind.

The man in question was viewing the scenes in the yard from a safe distance. He shot off a few more rounds without really aiming for anything in particular; and with a sardonic grin swung himself back into the passenger seat and signalled his driver to leave. He'd be back soon enough and was satisfied with what his men had accomplished; the prison group were either scattered or trapped; he had one man on the inside and the prison would soon be his…


	5. Chapter 5

The only thing the Governor hadn't counted on though, was the sheer determination of Rick's group. As soon as he heard the jeep moving off Glenn drove the truck through the open gates and swerved into the exercise field. Michonne jumped onto the open back still wielding her Katana with deadly force; and he drove straight across the field to pick up Hershel who was lying as flat as he could in the tall grass. It had nearly killed Glenn to wait out of sight, but he couldn't risk making his move too soon. As soon as Hershel was on board he swung the car around and with tyres kicking up the gravel sped toward the top gate separating the field from the courtyard.

Rick was cut off from the gap in the fence and surrounded by Walkers on all sides; he tried to block out the sounds of Judith's crying and Maggie shouting at Glenn to stop dallying and drive and instead focused on taking down as many Walkers as he could in the time he had left. His pistol was empty and he was down to using his knife and bare hands; he wasn't stupid, he knew that he was fighting a losing battle but was determined that if he was gonna die that day then he was taking as many of them with him as was humanly possible. He found himself hemmed in against the gate; holding one particular Walker by the throat trying to keep the jaws from closing in on his shoulder when suddenly he felt it go lax in his arms. He looked down to see a very familiar looking cross bow bolt sticking out of the eye socket.

"Shit, Rick! Don't jest stand there lookin' stupid! Pull it out and let's get movin'!" Daryl yelled over from where he was firing more bolts across the field and then running over to pull them back out to reuse them. Merle was thrusting his bladed stump into any that crossed his path and both brothers had the same expression across their faces; a blend of ferocious fury as well as a small part of enjoyment, yeah there was nothing more pleasing to a Dixon man than getting his hands dirty with a little Walker gore.

Rick bent down and pulled the bolt free from the eye socket and gulped a little as the eyeball remained attached to the end of the bolt; he flicked the bolt and watched as the eye rolled off the end, only to be crushed by the shit kicker biker boots of Merle.

The three men fought their way through the Walkers and ran around to the open gates. Each man grabbed hold of the heavy rolling sides and heaved them back in place, Rick secured the gates with the chain lying useless in the dirt and they ran along the gravel path into the relative security of the courtyard.

Maggie was checking the perimeter fence along the yard edge, knowing that chain link fence was all that preventing them from becoming the next meal for the hungry Walkers in the field below. "It's holding for now, it's kept them out before so let's pray that it does the same again. Michonne did a pretty good job with that sword of hers before Glenn picked her up; there can't be more than eight or nine left and we cleared more than that when we first arrived."

"Yeah, Mags; but we had more ammunition then." Glenn came up beside her and slipped an arm around her waist.

"Yeah, but look who's back…" Maggie jerked her head around to where Rick, Daryl and Merle were just about to enter the yard; Rick making sure that the gate was securely fastened behind them.

"Shit! Merle…" Glenn swore as he saw Merle walking cautiously into the yard next to his brother, he looked over at Maggie again. "You okay with this, Mags?"

"Yeah…I'm okay. It's Carol I feel sorry for, she was a mess, Glenn. I never realised how much she cared for the douchebag until I saw how much it hurt her when he didn't come back." Maggie rested her head against Glenn's shoulder and felt him press a kiss against her dark hair.

"'Douchebag'? You're calling Daryl a douchebag?" Maggie glanced over to where Carl was pacing anxiously; still cradling the rifle she had thrown him earlier. "I thought we liked Daryl?"

"Not at the moment, kid. Not for what he did to Carol." Glenn commented, keeping his voice low to prevent either of the Dixon's overhearing his words. Carl edged closer and poked his fingers through the holes in the fence; staring out into the field as though he was checking on the Walkers. When he spoke he didn't turn his head; "She cried when my Dad told her, she couldn't believe that wasn't coming back at first. Then she just crumpled and Dad had to carry her inside. Yeah, I'll go with douchebag, although asshole would fit better."

"Carl…" Maggie warned the boy quietly, trying to be firm but couldn't help the laughter from coming through in her tone.

"What? Just saying it like it is. Carol's been like a Mom to me, even when my own Mom was still here. When we were stuck on the highway trying to get to Atlanta, Ed wouldn't let her share their MRE's but she slipped me some food anyway. She's one of the nicest people I've ever known and he chose **that** over her." Carl jerked his head toward Merle and Maggie saw his fingers tighten around the wire, so that his knuckles went white with his grip.

"Come on, kid. Let's go and see how Axel is doing." Maggie stepped away from Glenn and tipped the brim of Carl's hat back over his head so that she could see his eyes. "A little birdy told me that he's pretty fond of Carol himself; might be just what she needs to forget the douchebag." Maggie laughed at Carl's grimace at the suggestion and slung an arm around his shoulder as they turned away from the fence.

"Axel? Why, what happened to Axel?" Glenn hurried over to join the pair of them.

"He took a round to the side, Carol ripped some of her shirt off to try and stop the bleeding, Daddy's working on him now. Carol and Beth helped carry him inside out of the heat."

"Good idea, we should all get inside; just in case he decides to pay us another visit later." Glenn whistled over to Rick, and motioned for them all to convene in the cell block. Rick nodded and Glenn saw the way that Merle tensed up when Rick spoke to him. Daryl jerked his head in agreement and Merle slowly nodded in acceptance. Rick led the way forward and the two brothers fell into step behind.

"Some big reunion 'lil brother…ain't exactly welcoming ya back with open arms are they?" Merle nudged Daryl's shoulder and the younger man just grunted in response. The lack of welcome hadn't registered until Merle's comment and now it was all he could think about.

"Been gone less than a day, nuthin' much ta miss."

"Thought ya little mouse mighta been here, waitin' on ya with a little smoochy…"

Daryl looked around the yard and couldn't see Carol, so assumed that she was doing her usual round of providing comfort and hugs. "I guess she's already inside, ain't much fer showin' all that shit in public anyhow."

When they got inside the block and Rick showed Merle into his new accommodation of the solitary cell at the end of the corridor. Daryl passed Carol on her way to her cell and was shocked when she brushed past him with a cold look on her face and turned to nod at Merle instead.

"Good to see you, Merle. Thanks for your help this morning." She smiled at Rick and walked away to change out of her bloody clothes without acknowledging Daryl's return in any way.

"What the hell?" Daryl muttered as he stared after her retreating figure, "Who's was all that blood? Is the Ass Kicker okay?"

"Judith's fine, the blood's Axel's – he was hit in the side by one of the sniper rounds, but he's gonna be fine." Rick confirmed and snapped the lock to the cell in place, handing over the key to Daryl. "Merle's your responsibility now," he continued. "Don't make me regret having you both back."

"Hey! What's that supposed ta mean? We chose to come back, no one made us." Daryl called after the former leader and Rick spun on his heel, and Daryl took one look at his face and knew that he was in for a shitload of abuse.

"How could you ask me to do that to her, Daryl?" Rick yelled and ran his hands through his hair as he paced in front of Merle's locked cell. "If you'd have seen the look on her face when I had to tell her you weren't coming back. She was devastated, man, absolutely crushed. Now, I don't know what the two of you had going on but when you said that you thought she would understand, you were clearly wrong; and you wonder why she wouldn't speak to you just now, asshole!"

"Told ya, stupid little shit." Merle muttered from where he was enjoying the show, and when Rick whirled around to face him, the older brother shrugged. "Told him that he was a prick for leavin' – ya don't leave a woman like that not even for family, so we came back. He was gonna ask ya ta let us move into our own cell block, or fer her ta come along with us if ya didn't want us sticking around."

"Really? You told him that, huh? Guess you ain't such an asshole after all, Merle. Seems like you've got a better idea of how to treat a woman than your brother does. Oh, and by the way Daryl?" Rick paused as he started to walk away, and turned back to face Daryl.

"Yeah?"

"You'd better keep away from the women for a little while…make that Carl and Glenn, too. They're all pretty fond of Carol and no one liked seeing her hurt like that. I wouldn't be volunteering for any watch shifts with them for a while; last I heard they were planning on throwing you to the Walkers for what you did… just a little friendly word of advice." Rick grinned evilly and whistled as he walked away, happy that he'd finally made Daryl Dixon squirm.


	6. Chapter 6

Carol made her way down to the kitchen area after washing off Axel's dried blood and changing her clothes; adrenaline would still be running high within the group and she had decided to make up a huge pot of stew and biscuits for them all as a reward. Despite almost losing Axel and seeing Merle turn up with Da…his brother, she felt good inside. It was her shot that brought down the sniper in the guard tower and despite the fact that Rick never let her go out on runs with the rest of them, she was getting very proficient with a hand gun and even better with a knife.

She started chopping up carrots and potatoes into the large stew pot and sighed a little at the sight of the last few remaining fresh vegetables in the rack.

"I hope this garden of Ricks' pays off, I don't relish the idea of living off oatmeal and jerky for the rest of our lives." She called out hearing someone entering the kitchen behind her and thinking it was Beth or Maggie coming to lend her a hand.

"I'll go out and forage some greens tomorrow when I'm out hunting." The quietly masculine voice coming from the shadows was definitely not one of the Greene sisters, instead it was a voice that she thought she would never hear again. "Carol, we need to talk."

"No, we don't." She replied, grasping the handle of the paring knife so tightly that her knuckles turned white under the pressure of her grip.

"Yeah, I think we do." He'd moved so quietly that she hadn't even heard his approach until he reached around to prise the knife out of her tight grip.

"No, we really don't." Faster than he thought possible, Carol had whipped herself out of his arms and was standing across the other side of the kitchen, holding her arms tightly across her body. "There's nothing you can say to me that I would care to hear. You had your chance, Daryl and you chose to go with Merle."

"Carol, he's my brother – I couldn't just leave him out there on his own!"

"I'm not blaming you for going off with Merle, Daryl! Family is the most important thing left in this fucked up world. I can't believe that you would be so fucking stupid to believe that I wouldn't want you to be with your brother…I'm pissed at you for going off without even coming back to say goodbye!" Carol flung the words at him and then stormed out of the kitchen, leaving the vegetables lying on the chopping board and a stunned Daryl standing with his mouth gaping open in her wake. Was that really his meek and mild Carol, spouting the f-bomb at him?

"Well, I guess she let you have it with both barrels." Rick mused as he walked in from the cell block cradling Judith in his arms. "Thought I told you to keep your distance for a while?"

"Yeah, thought I'd give it a shot – I just wanted to talk to her a little, try and explain." Daryl ran a hand through his hair and sighed in exasperation. "She told me that she didn't want to hear anything I had to say and then just started yelling and swearing at me – all this because I didn't say goodbye? It don't make sense, Rick. She ain't pissed 'cause I went off with Merle, she's pissed because I didn't say goodbye."

"That's because Carol still believes that family is everything; she wouldn't have stood in your way or tried to stop you; hell, Daryl she'd have probably packed up right alongside you and followed you both down the road!" Rick sat at the table and tried to make his friend understand the inner workings of Carol's mind. He knew how much the quiet widow cared for the rough redneck and would have willingly sacrificed what little comfort she had at the prison just to remain at his side.

"You really think she would have done that? For me?" Daryl slid onto a stool opposite the former Deputy Sheriff and watched as he fed his tiny daughter a bottle of milk.

"Yeah, I really do. I know that she cares deeply for the rest of us and do anything in order to protect the children. Think about what she put herself through with Ed, in order to keep him away from Sophia…now think about what she would put herself through if she thought it would make you happy." Rick let his words sink in for a moment before shifting Judith to his shoulder so that he could burp her.

"I jest wanted everyone to be safe and happy. Thought goin' off with Merle was the right thing at the time; didn't even get five miles down the road before I wanted to come home." Daryl whispered softly, rubbing his finger across the table top as he struggled to reveal his true feelings.

"Home? You really think of this place as home?" Carol's quiet voice from the doorway had Daryl jerking his head up in surprise; he looked around to find himself alone in the kitchen, Rick having slipped away when he had noticed Carol approaching from the other corridor. Carol stepped closer to the table and waited for his response.

"Yeah, stupid isn't it? I mean, we ain't been here more than a few months and yet it feels right somehow." Daryl dropped his head down again as he continued to rub a finger across the surface of the table.

"Why does it feel like home to you, Daryl?" Carol slid onto a stool next to him, and edged slightly closer to him. The prison had felt the same way to her from the first night they had arrived; she didn't know whether it was because of the thick walls surrounding them or whether it was because it was where they had grown slowly closer to each other inside the walls.

"Ass Kicker was born here, kinda still feels like we're all her family somehow." Daryl flicked his eyes over to where Carol was still edging a little closer, not wanting to say anything that would make her back away again.

"Go on…" Carol urged, placing her hand on the table so that their fingertips were almost but not quite touching.

"Ah…Rick 'n me, he treats me like he values my opinions or something…"

"That's because he does value your opinion, Daryl." Carol confirmed with a nod and a slight turn up of her lip.

"It feels like home, cause that's where you are, alright?" Daryl suddenly blurted out and reached over to grasp Carol's hand with his own. Keeping his head turned away, it was somehow easier to spill out all of the feelings that he had kept buried deep inside for so long a time. "I ain't never had a reason to be glad jest ta get out of bed, not before you anyway. I had to go off with Merle without saying goodbye, because I knew if I came back and saw your face again; I would never want to leave. I'm sorry, Carol, so sorry." Daryl tried to pull his hand away but found Carol refusing to let go; he lifted his head to see tears streaming down her face, which made his heart wrench tightly.

"Please don't cry, I hate it when you cry. It's okay, I'll get Merle and we'll just disappear; I won't bother you again." Daryl whipped his rag out of his back pocket and tried to wipe Carol's face, making her cry even louder. The sound of her sobbing attracted the others to run into the kitchen.

"You're even a bigger asshole than I originally thought, Daryl Dixon!" Maggie hissed as she tried to pull Carol away from his side. Carol simply shook her head and tried to speak, but the words just wouldn't form. "What on earth did you say to her this time?"

"Why I couldn't come back to say goodbye…" Daryl was devastated at the sight of Carol sobbing uncontrollably next to him, she had collapsed against Maggie's shoulder and the younger woman was running a hand up and down her back in an effort to calm her.

"Something you'd care to share with the rest of the group?" Hershel's quiet drawl spoke out from the darkened corner and Daryl sighed and opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by the smart mouth of his brother.

"Lil' brother knew that he'd never get out of here if he came back ta see his lil' mousey."

"What the fuck, Merle? Who let you out?" Daryl spun around on his stool to growl at his brother. Merle merely smirked back in response as Rick stepped up beside him, patting him on the shoulder and making him step back against the wall.

"I let him out, especially after he revealed what really happened out there between the two of you."

"And that would be?" Maggie questioned, still rubbing Carol soothingly on the back.

"Daryl came back because he realised that he belonged here with Carol…" Rick paused as Merle coughed into his hand and remembered exactly what the elder Dixon had told him and let Merle continue.

"What Officer Friendly meant to say was, I told ma lil' brother ta git his ass back here where he belonged; it was obvious ta me that he was pinin' away fer his little mousey woman, and I ain't gonna be the one ta stand in the way of a buddin' romance." Merle stared hard around the room and watched as everyone started to realise what was really going on in that little kitchen.

"I couldn't have come back to say goodbye, otherwise I might never have left you guys." Daryl whispered hoarsely, voice thick with emotion. "Carol started crying so I told her that me and Merle would jest pack up and disappear again." As he repeated his intention to leave, Carol started crying even harder and Merle chuckled as he realised what had her so upset.

"Move over, farm girl. Let ole Merle take a shot." Merle nudged a startle Maggie out of the way and scooped Carol onto his lap; holding her in position with his metal stump and patting her back with his uninjured hand. "Stop this cryin' shit, little mouse. The Dixon's ain't goin' anywhere fer now."

"Pr-pr-promise?" Carol hiccoughed and cried into Merle's shoulder. He looked over at his brother, who was looking so completely lost, not knowing how to handle a crying female.

"I ain't ever seen ma lil' brother act so loved up in his life; this is gonna be far too much fun to walk away from now." Merle stood up from the stool and plonked Carol down into the lap of a very surprised looking Daryl whose face immediately brightened up when Carol snuggled down into his lap and nestled her head under his chin. Merle scowled at the rest of the group and crossed his muscled arms over his broad chest in an attempt to intimidate them all into leaving the pair of them alone in the kitchen. One by one they started to empty the room, leaving Merle standing just outside the entrance making sure that no one crept past him.


End file.
